Browns Fans: Time for a Pep Talk

I know our team has underperformed this season, and it's been the same old song and dance.

We have all seen it: Braylon dropping passes, D.A. going into a downward spiral, and Romeo's bad playcalling and lack of excitement on the sideline. Getting beat by the usual suspects in Denver and Pittsburgh haven't exactly helped matters.

Frankly, it looks pretty bleak right now.

As bleak as it was perhaps in '05 and '06, when we were flat-out terrible and Pittsburgh was enjoying success. Believe me, I know how it feels, and reliving the pain is no great feeling for me. Nothing pains me more than seeing this team just give up on things, rather than never giving up.

The "Kardiac Kids" never did that, neither did Kosar's Browns or Jim Brown's Cleveland team, and you sure as hell would never see the great teams of the Paul Brown eight-time pro football champion Browns perform and act as despondent as this.

As Cleveland fans, we expect so much better out of our team, and we have so little that we can do, other than stand-by them during the bad times and party like there's no tomorrow during the great times.

As much as our rival fans try and kick us while we're down, we always brush ourselves off and get right back up, while lesser fans would just quit and pick another team.

Few cities and franchises have gone through the amount of heartbreak that ours has, but again, we're always looking forward. I see a lot of talent on this team.

Perhaps Quinn will be good in the future. He showed his ability on Thursday night, despite being on the losing end.

Cribbs showed a lot of heart in the last two games and could be a great weapon for us. We've got some talent to work with, unlike the '05 and '06 seasons, when we had very little, if anything.

To quote one of the greatest sports broadcaster in Cleveland sports history, Casey Coleman, may he rest in peace, "The thing that 'Red Right 88,' 'The Drive,' and 'The Fumble' all have in common is that the sun came up the next day."

There will always be next season for us; nobody can take that away from us (unless you want to count Modell, but he was unsuccessful in doing so). I'm not saying to act all peppy, cheery, and goodie gumdrops about it. Hell, complaining about how lousy we're doing is part of the Cleveland Browns' fan experience. No matter what though, this is your team.

You didn't just randomly pick this team out of a hat; you have a strong connection with this franchise, and it's very hard to suddenly decide to quit being a fan. Not only that, I consider that treasonous.

Things will get better. Look forward to next year's draft and free agency, root against Pittsburgh in the playoffs, and pray Cowher decides to come here.

Right now, just heal a bit, and remember two things—Pittsburgh still sucks and there's always next year.